The present invention relates as indicated to a wick insertion device for a plant pot, and relates more particularly to a device which is adapted to carry a water-transmitting wick and which can be locked in position in an opening formed in the bottom wall of the pot, thereby to permit water to be transported to the growing medium and the plant in the pot by capillary action.
In applicant's co-pending application Serial No. 281,622, incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a watering container specifically adapted for miniaturized plants, particularly African violets. The container, which will be described in somewhat more detail below, is constructed to receive a miniaturized pot in the upper wall thereof, with the bottom wall of the pot preferably terminating slightly above the water in the container. The term "water" is used herein to include water obtained from a normal water supply or source, and water to which fertilizer and/or other nutrients and growth regulators and enhancers have been added.
In the container assembly described in my co-pending application a water-transmitting wick extends upwardly into the growing media of the pot through a hole in the bottom of the pot, and is suspended at its lower end in the water. The wick is made of any well known material for transmitting water by capillary action, and is sized so as to transmit the desired amounts of water to the growing medium. In this manner, the water need be replenished only periodically, and the bottom watering of the plant provides a continuous supply of water in the proper amounts. Top watering of African violets is undesirable for many reasons well known to those in the art, and in addition presents particularly difficult problems where the pots are miniaturized.
Although the plant watering container disclosed in my pending application has proved highly satisfactory in use and has achieved widespread acceptance in the horticultural industry, some difficulties have been encountered in inserting the wick into the pot, particularly when the pot has been filled with growing media prior to wick positioning. Even when the wick is positioned prior to the placement of growing media in the pot, means must be taken to insure that the wick remains in place in the pot when the pot is filled.